520 



THE GAEDENEE'S ASSISTANT. 



beds 12 inches apart, four or five in a row across 

 the bed, and when thej^ bloomed, or before, a 

 light canvas awning protected them from wind, 



Fig. 634.-English Tulips. 



hail, or rain. The bulbs were lifted every year 

 and stored in pigeon-holed boxes or drawers, 

 each known under a separate number, the num- 

 bers and corresponding names being kept in 

 a book for the purpose. 



Messrs. Barr and Son of London still keep up 

 a small and select named collection for sale. 



The Florists' Tulips are divided into four 

 groups, viz. : Selfs or breeders, Bizarres, Bybloe- 

 mens, and Eoses. In Bizarres the colours are 

 red, chestnut, or maroon, on a yellow base or 

 ground colour. The Bybloemens are various 

 shades of purple, shading to almost black, on 

 a white ground colour; and in the Eoses the 

 colours are rose, deep -red, or scarlet, the base 

 again being white. 



A feathered Tulip has the colour finely pen- 

 cilled around the margins of the petals and 

 sepals. In a flamed variety the streaks or 

 flames of colour extend from the margin towards 

 the base of the flower. 



Vallota purpurea (fig. 635), the Scarborough 

 Lily, a native of South Africa, is not unlike a 

 Hippeastrum in bulb and leaves, and has bright- 



red flowers, 3 inches across, in umbels of from 

 three to seven on stout scapes 18 inches high. 

 The bulbs should be potted firmly in a mixture 

 of good fibrous loam, leaf-soil, and sand in well- 

 drained pots, and grown in a greenhouse or 

 sunny frame. After they are established they 

 should not be disturbed at the root for several 

 years, the plant, both growth and flowers, being 

 better if the pot is well filled with roots. 

 Offsets are produced freely by established bulbs, 

 and these are the best means of increasing the 

 stock. They should be pricked off in pans in 

 which they can remain for two years, after- 

 wards removing them to pots, several bulbs 

 being placed in each. A rest should be given 

 in winter by keeping the soil on the dry side, 

 but they should never be dried off. After 

 growth commences in March, liquid manure 

 should be given frequently until the flowers 

 appear, which occurs usually in August. There 

 are several named varieties, viz.: magnified, with 

 flowers larger and brighter coloured than the 

 type; major, with large deeper-coloured flowers; 

 eximea, remarkable in having flowers of a 

 magenta shade with a conspicuous white eye; 

 and carnea, with rosy-red flowers. A hybrid 

 between V. purpurea and Cyrtanthus sanguineus 



Fig. 635.— Vallota purpurea. 



has been raised in gardens, and is known as 

 Cyrtanthus hybridus. 



Viola (Viola tricolor). — Under this heading 

 is included the Show and Fancy Pansies, and 



